Road 96

Road 96 with the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a pairing that delivers a wide range of performance depending on how you configure it. The data reveals a system that is clearly capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but transitions into a more demanding 4K experience where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The measured frame rates show a consistent pattern across all resolution and settings combinations, providing a clear picture of what this hardware can achieve in this story-driven adventure.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The performance drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is dramatic and tells a clear story about which component is under the most stress. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 100 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 34 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest resolution tested, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the graphics card as the limiting factor.

The pattern holds across every settings preset, with the scaling becoming even more pronounced at the higher quality levels. At Ultra settings, the system manages 78 FPS at 1080p, drops to 50 FPS at 1440p, and then falls to just 26 FPS at 4K. This is a 67% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the High preset's scaling. The consistency of this drop-off across different quality levels strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering capabilities, rather than the CPU's processing power, are what determine the upper limits of performance as resolution increases.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes min and max frame data points, the scaling follows the same trajectory. The average FPS goes from 124 at 1080p, to 79 at 1440p, and then down to 42 at 4K. The min FPS at 4K Medium is 36, while at 1080p Medium it is 106, showing that not only the average but also the consistency of frame delivery degrades significantly at higher resolutions. This reinforces the notion that the graphics card is working much harder to fill those extra pixels, and its limitations become more apparent as the resolution climbs.

The Low preset shows the least severe drop, going from 170 FPS at 1080p to 108 FPS at 1440p and 57 FPS at 4K. Even here, the 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K mirrors the other presets. The fact that even at the lowest settings the 4K performance is barely above the 60 FPS threshold suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is simply not designed for smooth 4K gaming in this title, regardless of how much graphical detail is reduced. The data clearly indicates that for this combination, 1080p and 1440p are the sensible targets, with 4K being a playable but compromised experience.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo to achieve a smooth 60+ FPS experience?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 64 FPS, which is above 60. At 1920x1080, all settings presets achieve well over 60 FPS, with Low hitting 170 FPS, Medium at 124 FPS, High at 100 FPS, and even Ultra at 78 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS target, 1440p is the highest resolution that comfortably meets this on the High preset, while 1080p offers much more headroom.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to the Low preset at 4K in terms of average frame rate?

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 57 FPS, while the Ultra preset at the same resolution averages only 26 FPS. This is a 31 FPS difference, or about a 54% reduction in performance, showing that the highest quality settings are extremely demanding on the GPU at 4K.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 SUPER at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results suggest it is not a bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 170 FPS, and at Medium it hits 124 FPS. These high frame rates indicate that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to keep it fully utilized, as the performance is not capped at a low level that would suggest a CPU limitation.

Q: What is the most balanced settings preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This offers a good balance between visual quality and performance, staying well above the 60 FPS threshold with some buffer for smoother gameplay compared to the High preset's 64 FPS average.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations in Road 96?

A: The combo rank is 2629 out of 3713 total tested combinations. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, indicating that while it can play the game, there are many other hardware combinations that deliver higher frame rates in this specific title.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 2060 SUPER appear to be a limiting factor at any resolution?

A: The data does not directly measure VRAM usage, but the significant performance drops at 4K suggest the GPU's overall capabilities, including its memory bandwidth and processing power, are stressed. The RTX 2060 SUPER has 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, yet the 4K frame rates are low across all settings, implying that the graphics card's compute resources, rather than just its memory capacity, are the primary constraint at this resolution.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and can boost up to 4.40 GHz, which provides the processing power needed for modern games. In the context of Road 96, an adventure title, the CPU's role is to handle the game logic, physics, and scene management, while the GPU handles the visual rendering.

The benchmark data for this CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and a Passmark multithread score of 16908. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024 and a Passmark single-thread score of 2981. This combination of multi-core and single-core strength suggests the processor can handle both the parallel tasks and the more sequential, latency-sensitive aspects of game code.

The measured FPS results indicate that this CPU is not the limiting factor in Road 96. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 170 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would typically require a capable processor to sustain. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see performance plateau at a lower rate regardless of resolution. Instead, the frame rates scale down as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the constraint.

The L3 cache size of 12 MB and the memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are sufficient for the demands of this game, as the high frame rates at lower resolutions demonstrate. The processor's percentile ranking of 71 among all CPUs indicates it is a reasonably capable chip, and this is reflected in the game's performance. The CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, even at the Ultra preset which averages 78 FPS, suggests that it has enough headroom to avoid being a bottleneck in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across all tested configurations. Starting at 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 170 FPS, which is the highest of any configuration. The Medium preset averages 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. The High preset averages 100 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 78 FPS. This range from 78 to 170 FPS demonstrates that at 1080p, the user has significant flexibility to choose between visual quality and raw frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops but remains respectable. The Low preset averages 108 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The High preset averages 64 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. At this resolution, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for a smooth experience, as it stays above the 60 FPS mark with only occasional dips to 67 FPS minimum.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. The Low preset averages 57 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that approaches playable smoothness. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High preset averages 34 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 26 FPS. These numbers show that 4K gaming is possible with this hardware, but only at the lowest settings, and even then, the frame rate is not consistently smooth.

The data also shows that the gap between the Low and Ultra presets widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 92 FPS (170 vs 78). At 1440p, the difference is 58 FPS (108 vs 50). At 4K, the difference narrows to 31 FPS (57 vs 26). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions suggests that as the GPU becomes more heavily loaded, the relative impact of the settings preset diminishes because the GPU is already struggling to maintain high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2629 out of 3713 tested combos in Road 96. This ranking places it in the 71st percentile of all tested systems, meaning that about 29% of the tested hardware combinations perform worse, while the majority perform better. This rank reflects the mid-range nature of both components, as neither is a top-tier performer in their respective categories.

Looking at the CPU's standing, it ranks in the 71st percentile among all CPUs, which is a similar percentile to its combo rank. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which is 0.3% ahead, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, which is 0.6% ahead. The Intel Core i5-12450H is 0.4% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% behind. This clustering of scores shows that the i5-11400F is in a very competitive performance band, with only tiny margins separating it from several other processors.

For the GPU, the RTX 2060 SUPER ranks in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. Its closest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, which is 0.4% ahead, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which is 0.5% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 460 is 1.5% ahead, and the Intel Arc A770M is 1.6% ahead. This indicates that the GPU is slightly below average for its performance class, but the differences are small.

The combo ranking of 2629 out of 3713 suggests that while this system is capable of running Road 96, it is not optimized for maximum performance in this specific game. The fact that both the CPU and GPU are ranked in the lower-to-mid 60s and 70s percentiles respectively means that the overall system is expected to deliver moderate performance, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing strong 1080p and 1440p results but weak 4K performance.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured frame rates, the recommended settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice for visual quality, as it still averages 78 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, if the user prefers higher refresh rates, the High preset at 100 FPS or the Medium preset at 124 FPS offers a significant frame rate boost with only a modest reduction in visual fidelity. The Low preset at 170 FPS is unnecessary for most users unless they have a very high refresh rate monitor.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. It averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring that the game remains smooth even in demanding scenes. The High preset at 64 FPS is also viable, but it leaves less headroom for frame rate dips. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS is below the ideal smoothness threshold and should be avoided for a comfortable experience. The Low preset at 108 FPS is an option for competitive play, but it sacrifices too much visual quality for an adventure game.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option for a playable experience, averaging 57 FPS. However, this is borderline, and users may experience occasional stutters. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is playable but not smooth, and the High and Ultra presets at 34 and 26 FPS respectively are too demanding for comfortable gameplay. For 4K, users would be better served by lowering the resolution to 1440p and using the Medium preset for a better balance of visual quality and performance.

In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is achieved at 1440p with Medium settings, as this provides a good balance of visual fidelity and smooth frame rates. For those prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p with High or Ultra settings offers excellent performance with minimal compromise.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and it features 2176 shading units. The GPU's performance is also characterized by its 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. These specifications place it as a solid mid-range graphics card that is now considered end-of-life.

The GPU's role in Road 96 is clearly dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling analysis. The frame rate drops at 4K are substantial, even at the Low preset, indicating that the GPU's computational resources are being heavily taxed. The 8 GB of VRAM is not likely the primary constraint, as the game is not known for extremely high texture memory requirements, but the overall processing power of the TU106 chip is what limits 4K performance.

The GPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. Its Passmark G3D score is 16462, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2011. These scores place it in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, showing that it is an average performer. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are all within 1.6% of its performance, indicating that it is in a tight competitive band with other mid-range cards.

The relationship between the GPU's clocks and the game's results is clear: the higher the resolution, the more the GPU's clock speed and processing power determine the final frame rate. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully saturated, allowing the CPU to push higher frame rates. At 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting factor, and its boost clock of 1650 MHz is insufficient to maintain high frame rates in this scenario. The data shows that for this game, the RTX 2060 SUPER is best paired with a 1080p or 1440p monitor to get the most out of its capabilities.